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Coffee Shop
Demise of the Family Farm
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<blockquote data-quote="hurleyjd" data-source="post: 1609708" data-attributes="member: 4674"><p>It takes a lot of money to start farming and keep farming. In 1965 we built a small dairy barn on the place. Bought 35 head of cows. This was on fifty acres. We got along pretty well with it could buy the best alfalfa hay available for $35 a ton. Fertilizer was around $45 a ton. A new tractor in the 45 hp range would be $3250 a new pickup could be had for $1800. We had all of this and was still able to pay bills and satisfy the notes at the Production Credit Bank each year and did for about seven years.</p><p>Ever thing we needed started going up and up each year until it was a break even situation. When we first started this operation we only had less than $50 thousand involved in it. The fifty acres cost us $5000 and had to clear the brush form some of it. Needless to say we did struggle but kept getting ahead a little each year. We look back with fond memories and we have photos of the cow in the pasture and forty years later my son can look at the photos and name each cow. There was hornet, brownie and prunie to recall three of them. Alas the memories of an old man and the joys as long as we forget about the knee deep mud we would wade and the rubber boot would stick and you would pull out of it and the sock foot would go in the mud. Try not to remember the bad times. Finally after seven years the wife found a job in town and ten years later I did also and sold the cows and kept the land. At one time the small cow calf herd made a little money along the way. But now it takes spending money from investments each year to break even and you get a tax break because you lose money each year. But memories will not pay the bills. You have to know when you have had enough and move on.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="hurleyjd, post: 1609708, member: 4674"] It takes a lot of money to start farming and keep farming. In 1965 we built a small dairy barn on the place. Bought 35 head of cows. This was on fifty acres. We got along pretty well with it could buy the best alfalfa hay available for $35 a ton. Fertilizer was around $45 a ton. A new tractor in the 45 hp range would be $3250 a new pickup could be had for $1800. We had all of this and was still able to pay bills and satisfy the notes at the Production Credit Bank each year and did for about seven years. Ever thing we needed started going up and up each year until it was a break even situation. When we first started this operation we only had less than $50 thousand involved in it. The fifty acres cost us $5000 and had to clear the brush form some of it. Needless to say we did struggle but kept getting ahead a little each year. We look back with fond memories and we have photos of the cow in the pasture and forty years later my son can look at the photos and name each cow. There was hornet, brownie and prunie to recall three of them. Alas the memories of an old man and the joys as long as we forget about the knee deep mud we would wade and the rubber boot would stick and you would pull out of it and the sock foot would go in the mud. Try not to remember the bad times. Finally after seven years the wife found a job in town and ten years later I did also and sold the cows and kept the land. At one time the small cow calf herd made a little money along the way. But now it takes spending money from investments each year to break even and you get a tax break because you lose money each year. But memories will not pay the bills. You have to know when you have had enough and move on. [/QUOTE]
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